A partly cloud morning with plenty of blue sky. And against the blue sky when dog and I reached the summit, fluttered the usual gang of waxwings that hang out there because of the August fly hatch. (Or hatches, I should say—as I believe more than one species swarms up there.) Waxwings are beautiful birds; some are adults, some are juvies; I encounter them quite rarely at other times of year. But they’ve been in my eyes and on my mind these days.
Otherwise, mostly the usual suspects—although not many species today. Tomorrow will be different. Every day is different, its own miracle. That’s what makes life a wonder, to me.
Beech Hill List
Starting at 7:11 a.m. EST (8:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. American Goldfinch** (v)
2. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
3. Eastern Wood-pewee (v)
4. Blue Jay (v)
5. American Crow* (v)
6. Black-capped Chickadee
7. Tufted Titmouse (v)
8. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
9. Gray Catbird**
10. Cedar Waxwing
11. Song Sparrow
12. Common Yellowthroat
13. Eastern Towhee (v)
Elsewhere
14. Carolina Wren (v)
15. Mallard
16. Mourning Dove
17. Herring Gull
18. House Sparrow (v)
19. Ring-billed Gull (v)
20. Osprey
21. Rock Pigeon
22. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Carolina wren, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mallard, mourning dove, osprey, red-bellied woodpecker, riing-billed gull, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, wild turkey
